ROZ'S LOFT: Join me as I try new techniques and learn more about my machine and hand knitting hobby as well as living a new life in northern lower Michigan. Always an adventure!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Save Yourself Some BIG Bucks

Yup, I don't have anything to sell but I thought I'd tell you how I managed to save a little money.I saved $1784 a year on my phone bill. (sounds like one of those email scams, right?) Here's what I did... I called the phone company and cancelled the "special plan" that gave me Caller ID and other features that I never used. I liked Caller ID but I have an answering machine and if anyone wants me to know they called, they can leave their name and number. Then I cancelled Inside Repairs...which I've NEVER used, EVER! I also cancelled Long distance. After all I talk to my kids and my grandkids all the time on IM and by email and we share tons of pictures. My monthly bill went from $91.20 a month to $28.03 .

BTW, I do still have long distance, I went to Google and typed in the words "cheap long distance" and found a service for $ 0.02 a minute. This month's bill was $6. Last month's bill was $2.50.To sign up for my old land line long distance I had to pay a montly fee to get $0.05 cents a minute so I had an additional monthly fee tacked onto the bill. This new service doesn't have a monthly fee, just plain old long distance, I dial a number (1-area code and number) just like I used to and get who I want to talk to. BTW, the prices I paid for LD included tax.

Second thing I did was fill my SUV's tires with Nitrogen. Now my tire pressure stays the same whether its cold outside or hot outside, always the same pressure. If you have an accident that causes a fire, Nitrogen won't burn like oxygen does (so the car guy told me). If I get a flat I can fill the tire with air until I can get back to the Nitrogen guy. If its just a little low, a little bit of air won't hurt. My gas mileage went from 19.5 MPG to 21 MPG. I know exactly how much my MPG is because my car has a button I can push to see it. Fabulous!!!!

I got rid of that extra stuff on my cell phone and now I have a basic plan. I loved to surf the net while I was sitting in a dentist office waiting but its not worth the cost. My cell phone bill went from $90-to $100+ a month to $39.00 a month. $1080 saved (@$90 a month) now $468 a year.

Since I live alone, I don't got to the store if I run out of milk. I wait till I have an appointment or more than 1 thing to do in town and do my shopping. I keep a growing grocery list on the counter and grab it as I go out the door. Everything gets done all at once. Bonus is, I have more time to stay home and play with my knitting machines AND I've saved myself some gas.

If you have some ideas on how to save money, send me a comment so everyone can share it.

About Me

Obviously I'm a fiber nut. I learned to hand knit when I was living in England from 1962-1965. We were living off base near Greenham Common AFB. I loved visiting the local yarn shop in Newbury, the town we lived in and I was expecting my 3rd baby. My next door neighbor and her mother were busy knitting for her new arrival. It was the perfect time for me to learn and learn I did. I don't think I ever put needles down after I started.
Even now I like to sit down and knit by hand but more often than not I knit most of my projects on my machine simply because they go faster.
I also love to machine embroider and spin and weave and honestly--I love combining all these things into 1 project. I hope I can inspire others to join me in this venture.